Philosophical Reviews: Henry And Cato

 

How will be the life of a Roman Catholic priest that doesn't believe in God?

After the loss of God for Cato his life becomes a nightmare, he needs to believe in something.

Cato fell in love with a boy of seventeen years old, his name is Beautiful Joe.

This young boy doesn't know the difference between good and evil, he has no morality, he acts freely, his vocation is to become a gangster.

Cato believes that giving love to him will radically change his behaviour, he is sure that Joe is a good person, but it is hidden somewhere in his mind.

The result is that Cato will kill Joe.

In my opinion Cato has believed too much in himself, in some way he played as God with negative results.

Beautiful Joe represents his failure as a priest, he is not able to save a soul, he isn't able to implement the word of God, in brief is a passive spectator.

This implies a return to Plato's cave where he is comfortably seated observing the passage of his life.

Henry Marshalson wants to change his life.

He is conscious that this change is painful, he will do the best he can to do that but he is a human being, he follows his instincts, he believes that Stephanie Whitehouse is a girl of easy virtue. He is so blind that doesn't recognise that the only woman who love him is Collette Forbes.

In other words, Henry is out of the cavern but the sun blinds him, he is suffering, he started to become good without any kind of hypocrisy.